Abstract Detail

Teaching

Pigg, Kathleen B [1], Clark, Lia [1], Hieger, Timothy [2], Basham, Anne [1], DeVore, Melanie [3].

The last stop on the Fossil Freeway: Developing our own version of a traveling exhibit at ASU BioKIC.

“Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” is a popular 2007 book based on the North American fossil-hunting adventures of the authors Kirk Johnson and Ray Troll. Following its publication, the authors collaborated with the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, University of Washington, Seattle to develop a corresponding traveling exhibit. The "Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway" exhibit was designed to be customized to highlight each host venue's unique collections and to demonstrate the importance of collecting to science as it traveled from place to place. From 2009-2015 the exhibit was shown in a wide range of venues, both large and small. In Fall 2015, Arizona State University (ASU) became the last stop for this display. We installed our own version of the display at ASU's newly-opened, off-campus natural history collections facility, the Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center (BioKIC) at 734 W. Alameda Drive in Tempe, AZ. We adapted the exhibit to our 1000 sq. ft. display area and integrated Kirk Johnson's text and Ray Troll's artwork intimately with examples of fossil and extant organisms from our collections. These included fossil vertebrates (e.g., fish, sharks, bears), invertebrates (e.g., cnidarians, echinoderms, ammonites, trilobites) and plants (e.g., Mazon Creek nodules, Green River specimens) from the Israel Leinbach collection along with extant specimens from our vertebrate and malacology collections. Special units were developed highlighting the latest early Eocene flora of Republic, Washington, including artist and curator Wes Wehr's legacy and our current work on fossil Nymphaeaceae and Rosaceae. We also focused on plants and fish of the well-known Green River Formation of Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. We developed a narrative virtual tour guide which visitors could access via their mobile devices after scanning QR codes placed in various areas of the exhibit. Special associated events included guest lectures by paleobotanist Peter Wilf, paleoentomologist Bruce Archibald, and natural history writer Jack Nisbet, detailing the histories and localities of fossil plants and insects, and those who collect them. During the four-month-long display, over 600 guests attended our special events. The events also included a special Fossil Day program which served some 45 homeschool children and their parents as they learned about paleontology via both field and lab simulations. The collection was displayed in a public space adjacent to our classroom and an interactive discovery space where students and members of the public were able to view and engage with the Fossil Freeway exhibit throughout its visit.

Related Links:
AZ BioKIC
Pigg Lab

1 - Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences and BioKIC, PO Box 874501, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-4501, United States
2 - Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences and BioKIC, PO Box 874601, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-4601, United States
3 - Dept Of Biology & Env. Science, GC & SU Campus Box 81, MILLEDGEVILLE, GA, 31061-0001, USA

Keywords:
Paleobotany
Museum exhibit
informal education
Republic flora
educational technology
Fossil plants.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 33, Teaching Section Papers Session II
Location: 101/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Time: 3:15 PM
Number: 33005
Abstract ID:450
Candidate for Awards:None